Efficient adsorption and photocatalytic pceerformance of flower-like three-dimensional (3D) I-doped BiOClBr photocatalyst

• Flower-like BiOClBr and I-doped BiOClBr have been synthesized by using a facile solvothermal method.
• I-doped BiOClBr exhibited excellent adsorption ability and more excellent photocatalytic properties.
• The photocatalysts can be easily separated and recycled from the solution.

Uniform well crystallized flower-like three-dimensional (3D) BiOClBr and I-doped BiOClBr microspheres with diameter of 1 μm were synthesized through a simple EG-assisted solvothermal method. The existence of I atoms in the BiOClBr compound could greatly enhance both adsorption and photocatalytic activity as compared with the BiOClBr and BiOX (Cl, Br, I) monomers. The highest catalytic performance of the flower-like 3D I-doped BiOClBr microspheres was preliminary deduced to be due to the much higher specific surface area, efficient sorption capacity as well as the unique interfacial structure. These factors may favor the absorption of light and separation of photogenerated charged carriers more effectively.

Both of the BiOClBr and I-doped BiOClBr were accumulated by slice layers and are uniform. Because of I atom doping, a lot of changes in morphology happened to the products. The size of the I-doped BiOClBr compared with BiOClBr is smaller and the accumulated slice layer diameters were in the range of a few hundred nanometers while thickness is about several nanometers.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide